Cold as Stone
by inkydoo
Summary: Now a series of one-shots!  These stories will focus on Kyoko and Ren trying to get closer to one another.  It's not always easy, but it will always be worth it.
1. Cold as Stone

**A/N: This is not Trigun. I know I shouldn't be writing things until I finish the other story, but I got hooked on Skip Beat! and I had to write something about it or I was going to explode! Let this mark my grand return to fanfiction and let the next update be for The Long Slow Goodbye!**

* * *

><p>The little things were starting to get to her.<p>

Normally, she could keep a good outlook on life. Normally, she could keep her head held high, and even if something got do her, she could use her fearful aura to beat back the sadness and sorrow that always threatened to overtake her. Normally, she could hold her stone Corn and dream about how someday she would prevail and everything she had gone through would ultimately be worth it.

But today was not a normal day.

She had recently been cast in a drama as a handmaiden to a princess. It should have been a great experience, especially for a newbie actress, since there was a lot of major talent working on the series. The set looked like a real castle! The costumes were amazingly ornate! The princess looked like genuine royalty, and even Kyoko got to wear dresses that were more gorgeous than anything she ever thought she'd be allowed to wear in real life. And the prince...

The prince...

Ren Tsuruga had been cast opposite the princess as the handsome, dashing prince, and ever since she had seen him in his full royal regalia, her mind had been completely unsettled. For this role, Ren had had his hair dyed a sandy blond color, and the effect was striking. He looked just like a prince...even a fairy prince...

He looked just like Corn would look if she met him today.

She hadn't spoken to Ren since she stuttered a hurried "Good morning" to him and retreated at full-speed to her dressing room. They had to be on set together, but they hadn't had any scenes together so far, and it was more or less easy for Kyoko to keep to herself. After all, she was also shooting another drama, working as Bo, and going to school. She had plenty of reasons not to be wasting time.

Holing up in the dressing room under the pretense of doing homework had become a normal occurrence, and no one thought it strange that a high-school aged girl was doing homework. Had anybody checked in on her, though, they would have noticed that she wasn't making much headway in her studies. In fact, she wasn't making much headway into anything. She was stuck...stuck in the past...a past that now seemed more ridiculous to her than anything she'd ever imagined.

Seeing a man, not just any man, but Ren Tsurgura, look so much like her cherished fairy prince had struck a blow to Kyoko's psyche that she was not prepared to deal with. He looked just like Corn. He even seemed to move just like Corn. He was everything Kyoko had ever dreamed Corn would be.

And the sudden realization of just how different she had been from Corn, and from Ren, was threatening to crush her heart. What had she been thinking? That magic was real? That princes and princesses were real? That someone, somewhere, would find her and save her? Had she really been thinking that for all those years? And now...how could she possibly justify having her heart set on Ren? Ren? The top male actor in the entire country?

What had she been thinking?

The only time she felt anywhere near normal was when she was in the middle of a scene. These were the only points of her day where she could forget her problems and focus on something else. But as soon as the director shouted, "CUT!" it was back to the realization that she truly was just as foolish as everyone had thought she was.

This went on for two weeks. She avoided Ren. She avoided Yashiro. She even avoided Moko. But then something truly terrible happened: the actress who was playing the princess broke her leg after a nasty fall.

Yes, it was bad for the actress, but it was even worse for Kyoko.

The writers hustled to alter the script to accommodate the actress's need to rest and heal. They had a few episodes in the can already and were about to embark on a major story arc involving a warring kingdom. The writers decided that this would be a perfect time for the princess to go into hiding and for the handmaiden to trade places with her.

That meant Kyoko had basically been promoted.

She would now be acting as a princess opposite Ren's prince. They would be in rehearsals together every morning. They would be shooting scenes together every afternoon. There would be no way for her to avoid dealing with him anymore unless she quit. She couldn't let the cast down like that, though, so she persevered.

The first rehearsal had been absolutely terrible. It took no time for Ren to get into character, but she couldn't do it. She simply could not match him in acting. Her heart just wasn't in it. Every time she looked at Ren, she saw everything she could never be and would never have. She saw all her foolish, childish hopes and dreams paraded around for everyone to see and make fun of. The director had been observing the scene and after about 30 minutes of attempting let Kyoko get into character, he saw how distressed she was and told her to take the rest of the day off. Feeling like a complete fool and an utter failure, it was all she could do to apologize to everyone and hurry into her dressing room before she began to cry in earnest.

She looked in the mirror and what she saw made her cry even harder. The makeup had been perfect. The costume was exquisite. She really did look just like a princess, so why did she feel so terrible inside?

There was a knock on the door, but she couldn't bare to answer it in this current state. After a few moments, there was another knock. In a bit of a panic, she said, "Please do not disturb me," hoping her voice didn't sound as weak as she felt. She hesitated for a moment, then hastily added, "I'm trying to get into character."

She held her breath hoping for the person to leave, but was dismayed when Ren announced through the door, "I know something is wrong, so I'm coming in."

Kyoko had no time to wipe the tears from her face before Ren was inside the room, his expression going from concerned to downright grave. He made no move to retreat, though, and quickly shut the door behind him. Kyoko closed her eyes in defeat. She heard him make his way over to the couch in the center of the room.

He waited for her to speak, but she didn't say a word. She didn't even open her eyes. Finally he said something.

"Mogami-san, look at me."

Kyoko shook her head stubbornly and kept her eyes closed tight.

Ren sighed. "You refuse to look at your sempai?" he said, sounding disappointed.

Kyoko's eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice. She looked at him, tears now freely flowing down her cheeks.

Ren leaned forward and grabbed hold of the arm of her chair and pulled it closer so that she was sitting directly in front of him. His face was drenched in concern. "This isn't about the role," he stated firmly, finally.

Kyoko's heart sank. In what felt like a former life, she would have jumped up, animated, denying his accusation with all kinds of energy. But she just couldn't do it today. She didn't confirm what he said was true, but she also couldn't deny it. She simply sat there feeling incredibly miserable and exposed under Ren's gaze.

For once, Ren was at a complete loss for words. He had noticed that Kyoko had been avoiding him for a while, but he figured she would come around on her own. He was getting wary of the image he was giving off to Kyoko, since recently when she talked about what she thought he was thinking, he felt like her interpretation of his character was unfeeling and demeaning. He didn't want to make her feel like that, so he had left her alone, having faith that she would come around and approach him when she was feeling better about whatever was bothering her. However, this had not come to pass. She had been a complete wreck during the morning rehearsal, and though he wanted to stop everything and ask her what was wrong, he did not want to embarrass her in front of the crew that had been gathered around the set. So instead, he had decided to confront her when they were not under the scrutinizing eyes of the director, crew, and especially his meddling manager. He had expected her to be upset about something, but he really couldn't recall a time when Kyoko had seemed so utterly devoid of hope.

"Tell me what's wrong," he said, gently but firmly. When she didn't answer him, he started to get anxious. "Has someone hurt you?"

Kyoko closed her eyes and her expression changed from one of complete misery to a flash of disgust, then back to misery again. Ren was startled by this, but didn't have time to question her before she opened his eyes and began speaking.

"Sempai, no one has done anything to harm me. Please don't waste your time worrying about this foolish girl. I deeply regret causing you concern. I will-"

"Mogami-san," he cut her off, "it's not a waste of time to worry about you." He watched her for a reaction. Her expression turned hopeful for just an instant, but she quickly smoothed her face to reflect only sadness again and sighed a very deep and troubling sigh. Her gaze trailed off. He waited for her to speak, but she didn't. Time to change tack. "Are you implying, Mogami-san, that I am foolish for being concerned about my kohai?"

Kyoko's expression instantly changed to one of embarrassment and regret. In an instant she was up on her feet and bowing deeply in apology. "I would never think that, Tsuruga-san. I am very, very sorry for giving you that impression. Please forgive me for saying something so stupid."

Her eyes had been focused on the floor, so when she felt Ren's hand rest lightly on her shoulder, she flinched involuntarily. She silently cursed herself for reacting that way. She was just in too much pain to react differently, though.

At her reaction, Ren pulled his hand away quickly. She did not raise her head, so she did not see the look of hurt and anger that fell upon his face before returning to one of concern. He had half a mind to walk out of the room and leave her alone, but he knew this was because his own pride had been stung by her reaction. Still, he had never seen her this way, and he made the calculation that if he left, he might be hurting her a great deal more than he could know. So instead of retreating, he took the bold move of reaching out for her hand. He didn't touch her, but merely held his hand to her.

"Kyoko," he said quietly and heard her gasp. She looked up at him with the smallest of glances. "Please stop apologizing and sit down with me and tell me what's wrong."

Kyoko seemed to notice his outstretched hand for the first time and hesitantly placed her hand in his. He gently guided her as she sat on the couch. She sat slightly facing him, but she couldn't seem to find words. She looked at his face, then away, then at his face again before looking down dejectedly. Under normal circumstances, he would simply scold her for something and she would snap back to normal, but he didn't think she could bear harsh words at that moment. Instead, he gently brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and a few stray tears from her cheek before settling back into the couch.

He couldn't have predicted her reaction more accurately. Her eyes shot open and she looked at him with a shocked expression, like no one had ever shown her any tenderness. The truly sad thing was that he was beginning to realize that she found the gesture so unexpected because she had been shown so little tenderness in her life.

Well, at least she had stopped crying.

Ren spoke gently. "Kyoko, you don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to, but a lot of people are relying on you to take over this role. I know you can do it. You've been offered a special opportunity and it would be a shame if you let it go to waste for whatever reason."

Kyoko looked down in what appeared to be shame and regret. "I...I don't deserve a special opportunity. I've already wasted everyone's time. I wish people were not depending on me because I don't know if I can rise to their expectations this time." She looked so lost and forlorn. Ren really was taken aback. She looked like the little girl he had met all those years ago in Kyoto.

Ren looked around for a familiar small purse. "Hey, where's that stone you always keep around?"

Kyoko sighed. "I...put it away." She didn't look away from Ren, but instead smiled a very disheartening smile. "I can't...continue to think foolish thoughts about..." she sighed. "About magic stones and fairy princes. It's not real, and I'm already an adult, and I just realized a little while ago how foolish it is to think that a rock could somehow make things better." She had resumed crying, but she had not broken eye contact.

This was not a reaction that Ren had foreseen. "But...I thought that Corn was special," he said with confusion in his voice.

She sighed again, shaking her head in a way that seemed to imply he simply didn't get it. "Corn is special." She finally let her gaze drift. "Corn is special, but I am not, and it's just time that I realized that."

Ren suddenly realized they weren't talking about a rock anymore.

"What do you mean, Kyoko?" Ren asked, more to keep her talking than anything while he figured out something to say that might get her out of this terrible depression.

She didn't look at him. "Some people are born special. They have a family that cares about them. They have friends who want to be around them. They go to school, they learn things, they get ready for their lives to start. They grow up and find someone who they think is special and feels the same way in return." She wore a smile of sad acceptance. "I don't know what that feels like, and I probably never will."

"Do you know how hard it is to break into the entertainment industry the way you have?" Ren asked, sounding a bit frustrated. "Do you have any idea how rare it is for this to happen? You're starring on a drama in less than two years after creating memorable roles on two other dramas. That is special. Don't you know that?"

"But," Kyoko stated calmly, "people think the roles I create are special." She trailed off and sighed deeply. She thought silently and her chin began to tremble again. "The life I've pulled together for myself was based on foolishness. You were right, Tsuruga-san. Courage won't get me through everything."

Ren was shocked to hear his words in this context. "That's not what I meant when I said-"

"I know," she cut him off quietly, "but they're true just the same. Living like that is simply foolish, and I'm beginning to realize just how foolish I have been my entire life. I have a job pretending constantly that I am somebody else. I have Moko, but she won't even let me call her my best friend. I know she cares, but it's just...so hard to be excited to be around someone who isn't that excited to be with you. I spent so long caring about..." She grimaced, but a moment later her expression relaxed into one of resignation. "It's just time that I start living my life in reality with everyone else and forget my daydreams of the past."

Ren's heart shook with pain at seeing Kyoko like this. Did she carry around these dark feelings everyday? "Do you...want to be special to someone?"

A ripple of despair creased Kyoko's features, but she fought to keep it under control. She sighed again in resignation. "Everybody wants to be special, Tsuruga-san," she said, matter-of-factly.

Ren swallowed, hoping this would tame her sadness at least a little bit. "Well, you are very special to me." Kyoko's eyes snapped open in a completely unrestrained expression of hope, but a moment later, Ren could tell she couldn't completely trust what he was saying. "It's true! And not just because you're such a talented actress. You really...you're just a very special person. Please don't let cruel people convince you otherwise." Ren could see Kyoko planning her counter arguments to his previous statement. "And please don't insult your sempai by doubting his sincerity."

Kyoko instantly blushed from embarrassment and tried to apologize, because that was exactly what she was doing, but she stumbled all over her words. Ren laughed, seeing a glimmer of the Kyoko that he knew shining through. She was still weeping, though, and he knew he couldn't magically make everything better, even if that was what he wished he could do most. To Kyoko's surprise, Ren pulled her close so that she was leaning against his chest and his arm was loosely around her.

Ren couldn't see her face, but he could imagine her flustered expression. "Is...this okay?" he asked.

Kyoko took a deep breath and let it out slowly, choosing to relax against Ren, if just for a moment. She let his words sink in while she leaned calmly against him.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "This is okay."


	2. Say It Again

**A/N: It's looking like these will now be a series of one-shots.**

* * *

><p>In the early days of their relationship, it was not easy. But then, when it came to love, that kind of made sense for the both of them.<p>

His confession wasn't very cool. He hadn't even meant to say anything. She had come over to watch an episode of a drama she had been working on and was particularly proud of. It was the completion of an arc for her character and she wanted to watch it with someone who might appreciate how much work she had put into developing the character. She had come over a few hours early with two grocery bags full of ingredients as well.

He led her into the kitchen and though she tried to shoo him out, he decided to stay and watch her prep the food for what would ultimately result in a delicious meal. She enjoyed the company. They talked about things, nothing too controversial. They stuck to topics like work, friends, how her studies at school and in her acting courses were going.

The whole experience was very pleasant, and he realized then and there that he could get used to this kind of life. It probably wouldn't seem like much to anyone else, but with her, he felt like a normal guy with a normal job. He hadn't ever noticed it before, but he realized that this feeling he always got of calm was the same feeling he had as a kid watching his parents together. When they were with each other, they weren't super stars. They were just people who truly, deeply loved one another.

She finished preparing everything just in time for the episode to begin, so they moved all the food out to the coffee table and ate in front of the television. He had to hand it to her: her acting really was superb in this episode. He knew she had initially had a very hard time identifying with the character, but once she figured it out, she was a force to be reckoned with.

They were both sitting on the floor leaning against the couch, but she was a lot more animated than he was. She provided the whole episode with a running commentary track, and instead of being annoyed at the constant interruption, he was surprised at how excited she was. She was usually enthusiastic, but he felt like she didn't normally open up this much about the things that truly mattered to her, so he turned down the volume on the television a little without her knowing so that the volume from the tv wasn't as much of a distraction.

At the climax of the episode, she grabbed his arm, wanting to make sure he was paying attention. Her commentary trailed off, and she focused on the television screen. He knew he should have been watching the performance, but he got so wrapped up in looking at her face that he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"I love you."

It just slipped out. He didn't know why he said it. He hadn't meant to say it. He hadn't been planning on telling her at that point, or at any point, really. Confessing wasn't something he had anticipated doing any time soon.

"Hmmm?" she asked, not entirely paying attention. She had been focused on what had been happening on the television and not entirely present in the room. She made the mistake of glancing over at him, though, and the look in his eyes made her brain back track and slowly the words he had spoken dawned on her. "Wait...what?"

He knew if he said it again, she would run, but at this point he couldn't backtrack and lie. He didn't have enough strength to cover up his feelings anymore. He stood up, and not looking at her, he said, "I love you." He didn't look at her face. He waited for a response, but none came. Sensing rejection, he made his exit. "It's late and I have a crazy schedule tomorrow, so I'm going to go to bed. The guest room is available. It's too late for you to go home tonight anyway, so please stay here."

With that, he retreated.

It definitely hadn't been his finest moment, but he didn't really care anymore. He lay in bed awake all night, replaying the event in his head. It really was nothing like he had expected it to be. At 5 in the morning, he heard rustling somewhere in his apartment, then a few minutes later he heard the front door open and quietly click shut.

So that was the way it was going to be.

He got up and surveyed his apartment. The bed she had slept in was made. The dishes from last night were washed. The left overs had been put away. It was like any trace of her being here the previous night had been erased. The feeling struck him so hard that he wondered if that would be the last he would ever see of her.

A week passed without any interaction whatsoever. He was strong. He could wait a week.

Another week passed without any contact. That was a little more disheartening.

Halfway through the third week, he got a phone call. It was her. And she wanted to come over. He was terrified of what this new development might mean, but he agreed to meet with her without even hesitating.

She arrived after what felt like decades. She silently entered the apartment and went to sit down on the couch. He followed and did the same. She didn't say anything for what felt like a very long time, but finally she turned to him and looked him in the eyes.

"Could you...say it again?" she asked. He would have expected her to blush at that request, but she didn't.

He felt even more nervous.

He took a deep breath and poured as much emotion into his words as he could muster. "I love you."

She closed her eyes and a look of pain crossed her features. He was about to ask what was wrong, but before he could, she breathed, "Again?"

He was surprised, and a little disheartened by this reaction, but he complied. "I love you."

In shock, he watched as her chin trembled and tears begin to fall. "What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.

She tried to compose herself quickly, wiping angrily at her tears. "Please, just say it again."

He was confused, but he said it anyway: "I love you."

At this point, she thoroughly dissolved into tears. He was at a complete loss when she leaned her forehead on his shoulder. He cautiously lifted his arm and draped it across her shoulders to pull her closer. "Why are you crying?" he asked. "Was my confession that bad?"

He was surprised when he heard her giggle. She sighed and wiped at her eyes again. "No, no, it's just not everyday that someone says something like that to me."

He felt a deep pain in his chest as he gathered her up and held her closer. He kissed her forehead. "I love you, I've loved you for a long time, and I'll say it as many times as you want to hear it." She reached an arm around him and held him like there was no tomorrow.

They stayed like that on the couch all night.

From that point, their courtship was very slow. She had gotten more timid since the experience, and he found it extremely frustrating to have what he felt was a breakthrough and then find himself in a very rigid, polite relationship with her. The problem was that whenever she sensed his frustration, she pulled away a little more. It took him a long time to realize that she was acting this way out of fear. She didn't want to be a nuisance. She didn't want to cause him trouble. She didn't want to get in his way or annoy him. She hadn't even confirmed that she loved him back.

He realized then that the more she wanted something, the further she stayed away from it.

They got better at communicating and things progressed more normally. He would hold her and tell her he loved her, and she eventually stopped crying whenever he said it. Sometimes he got the feeling that she even took his feelings for granted, which was oddly kind of what he wanted. Every once in a while, though, he could see a look of sadness hidden deep within her eyes. She tried to cover it up, but he could see it. He knew what she was thinking.

"Someday you'll leave, too."

Most days are fine between them. Most days it seems like she's incredibly happy to be with him. But when she pulls away now, he knows the only thing he can do that will make her feel better is to assure her that he will love her forever and that he's not going anywhere.


	3. Jealousy

A/N: So...these one-shots are officially out of order. This takes place somewhere between nowish in the manga (Chapter 206-ish) and the end of the Tragic Marker shoot.

* * *

><p>So, it happened again.<p>

Kyoko had allowed herself to get lulled into a false sense of security. The Tragic Marker shoot was ending this week. They only had five more days of filming where they were required on set, and Ren hadn't had any of his weird freak outs in weeks. So when he had to shoot his last fight scene with Murasame, she didn't think it was going to be a big deal. She was milling about the set, acting aloof like Setsu always did, but she made sure to keep an ear open for the dialogue in the scene. It was a hard habit to break at this point. Everything was going fine at first, but then she noticed that Murasame was going off-script.

Way off-script.

It seemed like this guy just wasn't going to follow anyone's lead when it came to acting. As Murasame hurled insult after insult trying to get a reaction, she saw Ren, who was already transformed into Cain Heel, who was further transformed into BJ, transform again into that nameless _other_ man. She saw it happen, she saw him _smile_, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

The fight was brutal. They started out throwing punches, then they resorted to using chairs and props against each other. Kyoko was watching the fight, waiting for the director to yell for an NG or a cut or something, but when she turned around, she saw he was too overwhelmed to react. She turned back just in time to see a man she didn't know, blood all over his face, lifting a bruised and whimpering Murasame off the ground, his neck in a vice-like grip.

She did the only thing she knew would work: she screamed. It was a wordless, nameless, terrible plea for the fighting to end, and it tore through her throat and brought her to her knees.

She heard a limp thud as Murasame hit the ground, but her eyes were trained on Ren's. His gaze was hollow and empty, and she tried to maintain Setsu's character, but she couldn't help but run onto the set. Other people were tending to Murasame, who seemed to be coming around. Kyoko was totally focused on Ren. She spoke to him softly, then touched his face, and she saw a semblance of recognition in his features.

That was enough. She needed to get him out of here.

Kyoko took him by the hand and led him away from the set. The director was shaken from his stupor by this action.

"Wh-where are you taking Heel-sama? Setsu?" he asked timidly.

Kyoko pinned the director with a terrifying glare. "Can't you see my brother is done working for the day? What were you thinking letting this scene go on for as long as you did? Were you even going to call for a cut?" Now that the danger was over, she realized how very angry she was. "Can't you control your actors, Director?"

At this, the director was at a loss for words. He floundered, but all he came up with were uninspired apologies. Not good enough.

Kyoko sneered. "I see how it is. You didn't call for a cut because you wanted to use my brother to film this disaster of a fight scene. Well, I hope you can edit it into something useful because this is the only take you're going to get." She suddenly turned around to look at the people on the set and made eye-contact with a young make-up artist who looked like she was shaking in her boots. "You," she commanded, "I need you in the dressing room to take off all this make-up, and I want it done fast. My brother needs to get away from this set as soon as possible."

The make-up artist jumped into action, rolling her gear toward the Heel dressing room. Kyoko looked back to check on Ren, whose vision still seemed blank. His lip, the source of most of the blood on his face, looked to be busted as well. She gently pulled him by the hand and found that he was willing to follow her, so she ignored everyone else on the set and guided him to the dressing room. The make-up girl was already set up to remove Ren's make-up and clean up his wound, and the company car picked them up twenty minutes later.

When they got to the hotel, Kyoko wasn't entirely sure who she was dealing with, and she didn't know exactly who she should be acting as, either. He definitely wasn't Cain, but he wasn't really Ren, either. He almost seemed to be in shock. The last time this happened, she barely acknowledged the situation as Setsu, and it seemed to help, so she decided that kind of approach was probably better than dropping character and freaking out.

She wordlessly led him up to the room by the hand. When she got there, she walked him to the bed and gently pushed him so that he sat down on the edge. She touched his face, looking more closely at the wound on his mouth, then ran her hands through his hair, lightly feeling for any lumps on his head. She felt a few. She sighed.

"You shouldn't get into fights on set like this. They'll think they're getting to you," she commented drily. She waited for a reply, but she didn't get one. She looked at the clock. It was three in the afternoon. She sighed again. "Would you like me to run you a bath? I know it's early in the day, but you look like you need to relax."

He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

"Hmm, maybe you need something to eat, then." She turned to investigate what they had to eat in the room when she felt his hands grip hers firmly. When she turned back to face him, she saw a wild look in his eyes, almost as if he were scared of something. She found herself taken aback by the force of the emotion in his eyes, but couldn't do anything but stand there.

Slowly, he released one of her hands. He moved his fingers up to her hairline...and started removing the bobby pins that held her wig in place. She reacted with alarm, brushing him aside with her free hand. "Wh-what are you doing?" she asked.

He stopped. "Kyoko," he whispered.

She looked at him in disbelief that he was breaking character in this place, and using her name so casually, too, but when he began removing the pins again she didn't try to stop him. She took the few out in the back that held the wig in place with her unoccupied hand, since she didn't want him to miss any and accidentally pull her hair.

A few moments later and her Setsu wig flopped lifelessly onto the floor. He then removed the cap that kept her hair squashed flat to her head and began running his fingers through her hair.

She almost sighed at the simple pleasure of this sensation. All she could do was lean her forehead against his shoulder as he continued to lightly massage her scalp. She had been wearing that thing for two days, even sleeping in it. At some point, he had released the grip he had on her hand and his arm now circled her waist, coaxing her closer to him, all the while continuing to play with her hair. She finally gave in and leaned completely against him, sighing deeply.

"Don't leave me," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. He squeezed her waist a little tighter. "Okay?" he asked.

"Okay," she promised as she continued to lean against him. After another moment of standing like that, he put both arms around her waist and pulled her up with him as he leaned back onto the bed. Her stomach did a dizzying flip before she could reorient herself to the new position. She was pulled halfway on top of him. She looked up at his face, but his eyes were closed. "T-Tsu… Ren," she blushed as she used his name so freely, even though she was just following his lead, "what's wrong?"

He didn't open his eyes. "Shhh," he breathed as he leaned in and kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry. I'm okay. Just stay with me for now."

An hour passed and they were basically in the exact same position: Ren had Kyoko gathered to him as close as he could. He seemed to be sleeping. She didn't want to move to find out, though. She didn't know who she'd be dealing with the next time he opened his eyes. She tried to relax, but every once in a while, she still tensed up at the thought of being so close to him.

She had become used to Ren treating her strangely sometimes when they got back to the hotel after shoots, and this definitely wasn't the first time he had pulled her into bed with him and cuddled her like he was a lost little kid and she was a stuffed animal. It had been weird at first, but she found that she got a strange sense of satisfaction knowing that she was the one he turned to in these moments.

The kiss on the head had been new, though, and she didn't really want to think about how it had made her feel.

Her phone began to buzz. She knew she had to answer it. Otherwise, people might come looking for them and barge in on their special place.

She gently propped herself up with her elbow and reached over Ren to get to her phone on the bedside table. She checked the caller ID: it was The President. She took a deep breath and let it out before answering the call.

"I just got a call from the director," he stated before she could even say hello. "Is Ren okay? Do I need to come down th-"

"No," she assured him calmly, quietly. "Tsuruga-san is asleep right now. I think he just needs some time."

She heard The President breathe a sigh of relief. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she replied firmly. Then she began to wonder what kind of state her decision to remove Ren had put the production in. "I'm sorry for inconveniencing everyone, but the scene had gotten out of hand and no one was going to stop it." She still apologized, but having Setsu in her mind for so long made her apologies much shorter and simpler.

She heard him laugh on the other end. "No no, you were right. The director will be shooting coverage shots for other parts of the film today. I should have known Ren was in good hands. Now I'm glad you spent that time as his replacement manager."

She felt weird when she heard this. "I'm glad it wasn't too much of an imposition."

"You're doing a good job, Kyoko-san. Just hang in there." Before she could react, he continued. "I talked to the director and we agreed that we should try to minimize the amount of time Ren needed to be on set, so he reconfigured the shooting schedule and it looks like Ren will only be needed on set tomorrow and the next day. The Heel Siblings will be retired by the end of the week!" he declared.

"Oh," Kyoko managed. "That soon." She felt weird about this, too.

"Yes! I'm sure you're looking forward to getting Ren out of your hair for a while."

At that, she glanced at the wig that had carelessly been forgotten on the floor. "Oh! That reminds me. I accidentally messed up my wig. I know this is extremely short notice, but is there any way Miss Woods could meet me tomorrow morning to fix it?" she asked apprehensively.

"Hmm," The President sounded thoughtful. "I think it's possible. Let me contact her and she will call you with her availability later tonight."

She sighed again. "Thank you. I'm sorry to cause another inconvenience."

"Think nothing of it. You saved Ren's hide today. The director said if it had gone any longer, someone could have really gotten hurt."

They exchanged goodbyes and Kyoko reached over to place the phone back on the table. She sighed, then looked up at Ren's face. She froze when she saw his sleepy eyes upon her.

She waited for him to speak for a long time, but he seemed content to just look. Finally, she broke the silence. "That was The President. The shooting schedule has been moved around and you'll only be needed on the set for the next two days." Subconsciously, she let out a sigh.

"I heard."

His voice had a note of finality to it that for some reason threatened to overwhelm her with sadness. "Well, it will be good for you. Your life can go back to normal sooner than you thought now. No more hiding your true identity from everybody anymore."

He laughed humorlessly, which she found to be a little odd. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Life will go back to normal." Before she could say anything else, though, he wove his fingers through her hair again. "Why did you lie to him?"

She looked up at him, startled, defensive. "What do you mean?"

He leisurely played with her hair again. She almost closed her eyes. "Why didn't you tell him it was because of me that you need help with your costume tomorrow?"

Why? She sighed as she looked away. "I...didn't want to burden you with anything else, I guess." She looked up, timidly this time. "I just didn't want him to know, either," she whispered. She felt foolish for feeling this way, but for some reason, this moment seemed precious to her. She lowered her gaze and stared at his chest. "It was stupid. I'm sorry I didn't tell the truth."

She closed her eyes, expecting a scolding, but Ren just held her close to him. For some reason, this hurt her heart in a strange way. In two days, all of this would be like it never happened. As far as she was concerned, Cain Heel wouldn't exist anymore. Setsu wouldn't exist anymore. There wouldn't be anyone like her brother to care about her, and she wouldn't dream of calling up Ren to indulge her when she felt like she needed affection. She sighed again.

She knew what it was like to miss being a character, but until now she had never been _jealous_ of one of her characters.

Setsu was so special to her brother. Her brother would do anything for her. He would fight for her and protect her. He would spoil her rotten. He let her take care of him. He pet her hair and held her tight.

Nobody felt that way about Kyoko. Before this role, she really couldn't recall ever being held with this kind of tenderness before. It made her feel so pathetic and stupid. She was jealous of an act. Ren's acting was so good that he had tricked her into thinking Cain really did love Setsu, and that feeling had left its mark on Kyoko's heart as well. To feel all this kindness and to know it wasn't really for her, but for her character - it was getting harder to endure.

But...there were still two days left, and she might as well make the most of it. She pulled herself back from the brink, knowing she had to be strong right now. She finally relaxed completely against Ren's chest and breathed in his scent.

"I'm going to miss this," he said, startling her enough to make her look up. His eyes were closed now, though. "I mean," he back-pedalled, "not _all_ of this Cain Heel business, but definitely some of it."

"Hmmn," she acknowledged. She didn't really trust herself to speak at the moment, so she just stayed close, put her arm around him lightly, and quietly enjoyed the moment.


End file.
